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SD as pirate vessel

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SD as pirate vessel
Post by svenhauke   » Fri Jun 05, 2015 12:39 pm

svenhauke
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theres still 15 000 SD in the reserve of the solarian navy

obsolete and useless

so they will be sold to the brakers

how many will end up in the hands of crazy people, tyrants and pirates ?

considering the corruption of the solarian league id expect as many as people are interested in

they may be obsolete but they are SD´s

what is going to happen ?
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Re: SD as pirate vessel
Post by Duckk   » Fri Jun 05, 2015 1:12 pm

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A SD is a hilariously inefficient way of committing piracy. Maintenance costs alone would devour any profit margin a pirate could hope to make.
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Re: SD as pirate vessel
Post by Hutch   » Fri Jun 05, 2015 1:23 pm

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Duckk is undoubtedly right, 18th century pirates did not attack with 1st-rate 96-gun ship of the lines, they used fast and manuverable ships; for that matter, 21st century Somali pirates used the same type of ships (better tech, but the same idea).

I am sure tyrants and crazy people (and crazy tyrants), especially those in the protectorates and verge would love to get their hands on a SD(s). Problem is you'd have to get them out of mothballs (ok, bribery would probably do the trick), crew them (if you have a planet to pick from, ok, maybe), and have trustworthy commanders (since a rogue SD captain might think he/she would make a dandy replacement tyrant...)

Still, with the various Protectorates out there, it wouldn't surprise me if some of those governors tried to augment their local SDF's--although I think they would try and subvert elements of BF first.

Going to be interesting times in Known Space...
Last edited by Hutch on Fri Jun 05, 2015 1:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: SD as pirate vessel
Post by Jonathan_S   » Fri Jun 05, 2015 1:28 pm

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Duckk wrote:A SD is a hilariously inefficient way of committing piracy. Maintenance costs alone would devour any profit margin a pirate could hope to make.

And it sucks up all your manpower while still only being in one place at a time. You could outfit and maintain a couple squadrons of cruisers for that one SD and they could cover much more territory make pirate scores more likely.

Also the SD give up much of the accel of the smaller ships, giving it far less overtake against a frieghter

So many ways they're a bad idea for a pirate.
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Re: SD as pirate vessel
Post by svenhauke   » Fri Jun 05, 2015 1:29 pm

svenhauke
Lieutenant (Senior Grade)

Posts: 89
Joined: Fri Jul 11, 2014 7:36 pm

theres allways brothers daughters and other close relatives for commanders

especially if your sure your daughter loves you ..

so geting trustworthy comanders won t be a problem

for the tyrant in his mind

and what any SD got is imunity to any antipiracy vessel

so it can go in and take the tasty bite out of any convoy ..
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Re: SD as pirate vessel
Post by Duckk   » Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:16 pm

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Site Admin

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You are grossly underestimating the amount of work it keeps a SD in space. Most pirates can barely keep their own rickety contraptions spaceworthy. They are not going to be able to keep a SD operational for long.
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Shields at 50%, taunting at 100%! - Tom Pope
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Re: SD as pirate vessel
Post by svenhauke   » Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:36 pm

svenhauke
Lieutenant (Senior Grade)

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totally agree not for long...

but for a short time they have real power

remember 15 000 SD sold as scrap metal ...
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Re: SD as pirate vessel
Post by akira.taylor   » Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:54 pm

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svenhauke wrote:totally agree not for long...

but for a short time they have real power

remember 15 000 SD sold as scrap metal ...


But as soon as an actual fleet hears about you, they are going to send warships to deal with you - a Battle Squadron, not some piddling cruisers. Then, they are going to crush your little nation. Since you are a really scary pirate, and need to be stopped before you get even more powerful. Remember the comment about Theisman making sure no SDs got away during the Havenite Civil War - plenty of lighter ships did (like the whole People's Navy in Exile), but he hunted down and destroyed the SDs (and DNs and BBs, I think - my recollection is nothing heavier than battlecruisers, if that, got away to play pirate).
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Re: SD as pirate vessel
Post by saber964   » Fri Jun 05, 2015 4:57 pm

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You have to remember that piracy is a luck of the draw kind of occupation. When it comes to fencing stolen good, you usually wind up receiving 10% and if very very lucky 15% of the value of the total haul e.g. the jacked ship and it's cargo. How long do you think a pirate would operate or (captain live) if he got a few bummer hits in a row. Like hitting a freighter loaded with agricultural products or said freighter is traveling in ballest (little or no cargo). A pirate has at minimum several must have expenses like fuel, spare parts, food, replacement missiles and etc. etc., before you pay the crew. You also need a safe haven and a government willing to look the other way if you have major repairs. Also in the Honorverse piracy is going to get very lean with the loss of Mesa and the complaint governments in Seleasia.
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Re: SD as pirate vessel
Post by Vince   » Fri Jun 05, 2015 7:10 pm

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akira.taylor wrote:
svenhauke wrote:totally agree not for long...

but for a short time they have real power

remember 15 000 SD sold as scrap metal ...


But as soon as an actual fleet hears about you, they are going to send warships to deal with you - a Battle Squadron, not some piddling cruisers. Then, they are going to crush your little nation. Since you are a really scary pirate, and need to be stopped before you get even more powerful. Remember the comment about Theisman making sure no SDs got away during the Havenite Civil War - plenty of lighter ships did (like the whole People's Navy in Exile), but he hunted down and destroyed the SDs (and DNs and BBs, I think - my recollection is nothing heavier than battlecruisers, if that, got away to play pirate).

Some PRN BCs did manage to get away to play pirate. When SLN Rear Admiral Rozsack (Frontier Fleet) went up against the Mesan Alignment backed PRN in Exile, (Torch of Freedom), he went for the BCs as primary targets. Although ten of the BCs were ex-SLN Indefatigables (provided by the Mesan Alignment using Mesa and Manpower as fronts), there were four PRN Warlord-class BCs as well as eight Mars-class heavy cruisers and the smaller vessels (light cruisers and destroyers).
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